[K1] Looking for Assistance in Creating a New UV Map for a Placeable

[CarthOnasty 214]

I'm looking for assistance in creating a new UV Map for a project I'm working on. I've got all the tools needed, ( KotorTools, mdlops, Blender, and kotorblender) but I can't seem to get it working as intended. I think maybe I'm just not understanding the concepts behind creating new seams and cuts on the model.

 

 

What I'd essentially like to do is take a placeable in-game, strip it of it's current UV Map and associated .tga, and then create a whole new mapped out wrap and .tga. If you'd be willing to help out with this, by all means let me know. In the meantime I'll keep playing around in Blender.

 

Thanks for your time. -CO

[DarthParametric 3,785]

There's nothing particularly unique about KOTOR models when it comes to UVs, so you should be able to use any Blender UV tutorial to get yourself started. I don't use Blender myself, so can't offer any specific tips, beyond the general advice that UV mapping is a black art, difficult to master (and not helped by most UV tools being terrible). The general rule of thumb is to put your UV seams where you want hard edges, or otherwise hide them as best as possible. Make sure you allow for some padding around your islands to avoid issues with bleed at lower mip levels. Seeing as you won't be using lightmaps, remember that you can use the space outside 0:1, which can be preferable rather than stacking (sometimes that can cause artefacts).

[CarthOnasty 214]

There's nothing particularly unique about KOTOR models when it comes to UVs, so you should be able to use any Blender UV tutorial to get yourself started. I don't use Blender myself, so can't offer any specific tips, beyond the general advice that UV mapping is a black art, difficult to master (and not helped by most UV tools being terrible). The general rule of thumb is to put your UV seams where you want hard edges, or otherwise hide them as best as possible. Make sure you allow for some padding around your islands to avoid issues with bleed at lower mip levels. Seeing as you won't be using lightmaps, remember that you can use the space outside 0:1, which can be preferable rather than stacking (sometimes that can cause artefacts).

 

So after some trial and error, I was able to successfully remap the object, run in through mdlops and have it successfully working in-game. (Which was really cool to see.) The only issue I have now, is that some of the original (untouched) objects and their relative textures are no longer showing in-game.

 

i.e. Working on the starmap placeable, I was able to remap the base and have that show in game. Now nothing else shows though. Even though the base was the only map/texture I touched. Any ideas?

[DarthParametric 3,785]

You mean other parts of the model, like the arms, etc.? What version of MDLOps are you using?

[CarthOnasty 214]

You mean other parts of the model, like the arms, etc.? What version of MDLOps are you using?

 

e.g. The sphere in the middle of the starmap, it rises up when it opens, yada. That no longer appears in game, same with any of the other starmap animations and textures. Anything directly related to what I worked on works just fine. On MDLOps 1.0.0.

[DarthParametric 3,785]

Did you actually export the animations in the ASCII you compiled? That could be an issue with KOTORBlender. I don't know if it handles animations. You might have to manually copy across the animations from the vanilla ASCII to the the modified ASCII.

[CarthOnasty 214]

There's the checkbox to do so, and I honestly don't remember if I checked it or not. Should I have? And then when I export to .mdl do I need to manually rename that to an ascii?

[DarthParametric 3,785]

The animations are on the model. If you didn't export them then that explains the problem.

 

The file extension of the ASCII is irrelevant, as long as the compiler can see it.

[CarthOnasty 214]

Cool, I'll double-check when I get home. Thanks!